6 months ago
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Even arsenic the Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the Tirumala laddu ghee adulteration case, it has been estimated that a whopping 20.1 crore laddus retired of the 48.76 crore distributed oregon sold to 11 crore devotees who visited the celebrated Sri Venkateswara temple astatine Tirumala during the play 2019-2024 were made of spurious ghee, according to Mr. B.R. Naidu, chairman, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust Board.
The sensational contented has shaken the TTD and wounded the spiritual sentiments of Hindus, implicit allegations of the usage of impure/spurious ghee for the Prasadam considered ineffable by the devotees.
Simple mathematical calculations based connected the laddu accumulation and merchantability figures from the TTD’s room and organisation counters and compilation of the regular pilgrim footfall figures, too the procurement details arrived astatine by the SIT from the ghee supplying companies person brought mind-boggling facts to the fore.
The SIT has concluded that Bhole Baba dairy of Uttarakhand, its ‘shell’ dairies and subsidiaries person collectively supplied 68 lakh kg of spurious ghee made of a substance of thenar oil, thenar kernel and different toxic substances, estimated to beryllium worthy astir ₹250 crore, to the TTD for mentation of ‘Srivari Laddu’ during the said period.
“According to the TTD’s selling records, the full procurement of ghee from aggregate dairies for those 5 years was 1.61 crore kg worthy ₹534.7 crore, retired of which the SIT probe recovered 68 lakh kg bought from Bhole Baba and its proxies arsenic spurious, amounting to astir 42% of the full procured stock,” said Mr. B.R. Naidu connected Friday (November 21, 2025) successful an informal enactment with The Hindu.
Laddu recipe
The age-old look for the ineffable laddu strictly uses ingredients specified arsenic Bengal gram flour, ghee, sugar, cashew nuts, raisins, cardamom and sweetener candy successful a pre-determined proportion, which is ne'er altered to support consistency and the taste. On an average, the Potu (temple kitchen) produces 3.5 lakh laddus each day, weighing 175 gm each, utilizing 11,500 kg of ghee, portion the full merchantability figures for the said play was pegged astatine 48.76 crore laddus.
The Tirumala shrine was visited by 10.97 crore devotees during June 2019-June 2024, notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a superior bearing connected the accomplishment figures. It is present wide that the 10.97 crore visitors had received/purchased astir 48.76 crore laddus.
“As astir 11 crore devotees visited Tirumala during those 5 years successful question, it is not imaginable to ascertain who received the laddus made of spurious ghee and who got the axenic ones,” remarked the TTD spot committee president B.R. Naidu.
Echoing a akin view, TTD committee subordinate and BJP spokesperson G. Bhanuprakash Reddy reiterated that whoever resorted to the heinous enactment of supplying spurious ghee for making the laddu prasadam should beryllium brought to book.
